Classroom Corner – More it grows…..more you cut off???

An open window into the comings and goings of students and their trees attending our regular weekend and midweek bonsai classes under the ever watchful eyes of John Hanby.

Classroom Corner – More it grows…..more you cut off???

A mild winter……and this year we actually had a spring!!!…… then some warm weather followed by lots of rain…….no wonder most deciduous trees are growing so strongly.

Now is the perfect time to get in to that strong growth, make branch/twig/bud selections, remove long extensions and large leaves.

The Lilac tree above has a nice canopy but there are fundamental structural problems behind the foliage which we must try and resolve. Drastic action but hopefully with some back budding we can create a more compact image in sympathy with the exceptional hollow trunk.

Make decisions on areas that need to be contained and areas where more extension or growth must be encouraged.

It’s all about control. It’s no use just letting the tree grow as he wants for the whole season. If this happens you will probably have to remove most of the new growth in the autumn and be back where you started…..a whole season wasted!

The trees pictured above have arrived at classes in recent weeks with an abundance of new growth which was dealt with accordingly. Each student was then given fresh instructions on what to do next with the new growth to follow.

Rightly or wrongly I am afraid it is often the case that the more the tree grows the more we will remove……..but at the end of the season we will both be better for it !!!